Q&A

For my final grade in this class we are supposed to answer questions to help the program grow and to help those who are wanting to study abroad in the future.  Don't worry this is not my last blog post! I will do two more blog posts before coming home.

Here we go!

Packing and Traveling

Specifically what kind of linens do you need to bring?
- I did not bring any linens with me.  They are provided at every hostel and in your dorm room.

What are you glad you packed from home?
- I am glad that I packed a lot of neutral colors because you can mix and match them with just about anything.  I am also glad that I packed a towel with me.  I bought one of the travel REI microfiber towels and it is perfect to fit in my backpack for any trip that we take.  I bought a good pair of shoes before I came and those I am also glad I brought with me.

What do you wish you would of left home?
- I would of left one of my sweaters home and a skirt home.  The reasoning is because we were told that we would have rain and snow a lot here.  When it is been super nice and sunny. 

Do you have any travel tips to pass on?
- Whenever you are planning a trip on your own go to Student Agency and check on their prices first.  Normally they are going to be your cheapest and easiest option.  Remember to always screen shot your confirmation number or code.  you don't always have wifi everywhere, so you cant check your email like you would in the states.

What places do you advise future students to see and why?
- Go to La Spezia in Italy!!!  It was the perfect place to go and lay on the beach all day long.  you can also take a tram or bus to one of the Cinque Terre villages for a day.  The people were nice and the food was amazing.  I am going to Budapest and Barcelona in the next week, but I heard that Budapest is a must do as well. 

Social Life

How did you meet students from your host country?
- I met a lot of students from the Czech by attending one of their group fun meetings.  A group of us Americans went and drank wine with them and learned more about their culture and what the cool things to do around Europe that aren't touristy.

How did you like to spend your free time and why?
- I spent a lot of my free time hanging out with the friends I have made here.  We normally go out to a bar, coffee house, or stay in and chill.

What opportunities for social, recreational, and cultural events that the host university or program offered did you like the best and why?
-  The university put on a sports day for all of the students.  We could attend any class we wanted to for free.  My friend Julie and I went to a class called dance yoga and had a blast! I recommend everyone who comes to the Czech to see what they have to offer for sports day next year.

What piece of advice would you give to future students regarding their non-academic life while overseas?
- Don't be afraid to go on a random tram and see where it goes.  Enjoy every second over here and do things that you want to do.  You don't always have to stick side by side with the people in your group.  Go out and meet people from other countries and do stuff with them.

School Work

How did your academic experience at Palacky differ from your US experiences concerning...

Relations with professors/classroom instruction?
- The classes are all different.  We had a different professor for a lot of lectures.  So it is not like the school we are used to in the states.  Although, it was still really good classes and were at great times. 

Grading?
- Same as UNK, nothing different.

Study Habits?
- Studying wasn't bad at all.  Just have to do the work they say and you will be fine!

Money & Communications

How much money in US currency would you recommend students to have at their disposal for their whole time overseas?
- I brought over around $4,000 and that is the perfect amount.  you still have to budget, but you can still have a good time.

How much money did you have in foreign currency when you left for the program and was it enough?
- I brought over about $250 dollars in korun over.  I liked it because I didn't have to go to an ATM or a currency exchange place immediately.  I was able to enjoy my time before freaking out if I had enough money on me.

How and where did you access your money?
- I always checked my account through wellsfargo and just used an ATM around Olomouc to pull out cash.  I always pulled out the max I could pull, since I was getting a $5.00 ATM fee.

How much money did you spend on books, school supplies, food, entertainment, local transportation, travel, toiletries, airfare, laundry?
- I spent majority of my money on all of these items, but for school supplies I recommend bringing over a couple of notebooks and pens.  They are expensive here, for the quality they are.

-Food: I cannot tell you specifically how much I have spent on food, but cheap meals are available around Olomouc.  When I would shop at Globus I would spend about $20 a week maybe every week and a half.

-Laundry: I did my laundry at a Laundromat across the street from our dorms.  The guys name is George and he is so nice!  To wash your clothes it cost $5.00 and to dry them it costs $2.50.  This includes laundry detergent and free wifi, which is huge.  I brought a clothes line with me so I could hang dry the stuff I didn't want to be put in the dryer.

-Everything else:  I went to places like EuroRail for trains.  AirBnb, HostelWorld, and Booking.com for places to stay.  Momondo and TripAdvisor for flights.  Use Student Agency if you can!

How did you communicate with the US?
- I kept the phone I have (iPhone) and turned off all my data.  I text people through imessage. Call people through FaceTime Audio.  And Face to Face through FaceTime.  You need wifi to access all of these things, but we have all survived just fine without a phone plan.  I know one person bought a sim card for their phone, but I have been perfectly fine with the wifi.

Tips
- 1: bring an umbrella
  2: waterproof everything you bring
  3: you can buy shampoo and stuff here so don't worry about packing it.
  4: download ConnectifyMe on your computer to turn it into a hot spot.  (It doesn't work on Macs though!)
  5: buy a Europe converter power strip.  We use the one I brought for all of our stuff.
  6: carry a map on you at all times.  CityMaps2Go works on your phone without wifi.

Top Stuff To Do
1: Go to Café St. Angelo, they give you the most coffee for your money and they are super nice.  I go almost every single day. (:
2: gyrodikos delivers for free to your dorm.  It is like Jimmy Johns, but I feel like it might be better.
3: When in Venice, Italy go to Alfredos!  The best to go pasta I have ever had.  Also ride a Gondola, you have to.
4: In Krakow, Poland eat at Momos they are a vegan place, but a group of us went multiple times.
5: Attend the Erasmus parties, they are a blast.
6: Drink at Black Stuff.  They have my favorite beer "Leffe" and amazing wine
7: Go to a Vinoteka.  They are everywhere.  you can try whatever wine you want that they have on tap and when you find one that you like they fill up a one or two liter bottle up with it for you.  When you drink it then you bring the bottle back and you get a discount.  I got 2 liters of wine for $4.00 and it was super good.
8: Enjoy every moment possible.  Make memories for yourself.  Make mistakes and take chances.  Live it Up.

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Like I said before.  I will blog again no worries!  I will keep you posted up till the day I land.  For now I need some shut eye for I have a Czech Language final tomorrow and I leave for Budapest! Night!